Jesus and Peter Walk on Water - Matthew 14:22-33

Let's set the stage. We've got a group of guys here who have personally seen Jesus' miracles, and heard His teachings and believed in Him. In fact, they've just finished participating in a huge outdoor all-you-can-eat dinner, where Jesus provided food for likely close to 20,000 people (5000 men plus women and children, could've been more, could've been less). After seeing this miracle, Jesus sends them off so He can be by Himself. If I'm on that boat, I'm thinking, "Jesus knows what He's doing. We should be safe going where He told us to go, and doing what He told us to do." Then, all of a sudden, a wind comes up against the boat, and the waves start rocking it harder and harder, and it's all the disciples can do to make any headway at all.

- life can be pretty tough even when we're doing what God says

Imagine you're fighting the waves for control of the boat, when all of a sudden you look back and catch the moonlight reflecting off something on the water, and it looks like it's heading towards you. All the ghost and monster stories you heard as a kid come rushing back into your mind. You can make out the figure of a man. Someone whispers the word 'ghost' and slowly the other guys huddle towards the front. You quickly join them, abandoning the boat to the waves, a couple of the more superstitious guys let out muffled screams...

That's when you hear the most comforting thing you've ever heard. Jesus' voice booms out to you over the storm: "Hey guys! Don't be afraid, it's just me, Jesus! You've got nothing to worry about!"

- often we let our minds wander, we fear things we don't understand, we don't see the obvious because our circumstances cloud our judgement.

Now we get to where Peter walks on water... well, sort of. After all, he took His focus off Jesus and would have sunk if Jesus hadn't saved him. Sometimes we think that makes the other disciples look better, but where was their faith? Did any of them take even one step on the water? NO. Peter's decision to take a risk and step out was a good one, and one we need to follow. And the fact that he fell is an encouragement for us, when the inevitable fall comes, Jesus is faithful to pick us back up and keep us safe.

I'd like to focus on Jesus' words in verse 31, because I don't think it's quite the heavy rebuke we expect... I think it's a commendation, and a push to go farther:

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

In Luke 17:6, Jesus says, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you."

I think Jesus is saying, "You were doing good, you had a little faith... why did you let doubt take that away from you?"

We need to have a little faith to begin with, and then let that grow.